Oscar Hijuelos is the international bestselling author of eight novels, including The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, for which he became the first Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He has also received the Rome Prize and prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He lives in New York City.

In his memoir, Thoughts without cigarettes, Hijuelos turns his pen to the real people and places that have influenced his life and, in turn, his literature. He has enchanted readers with vibrant characters who hunger for success, love, and self-acceptance. In his first work of nonfiction, Hijuelos writes from the heart about the people and places that inspired his international bestselling novels. Born in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights to Cuban immigrants in 1951, Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing. The son of a Cuban hotel worker and exuberant poetry- writing mother, his story, played out against the backdrop of an often prejudiced working-class neighborhood, takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship to his family and culture changes forever. During a sojourn in pre-Castro Cuba with his mother, he catches a disease that sends him into a Dickensian home for terminally ill children. The yearlong stay estranges him from the very language and people he had so loved.With a cast of characters whose stories are both funny and tragic, Thoughts without cigarettes follows Hijuelos’s subsequent quest for his true identity into adulthood, through college and beyond-a mystery whose resolution he eventually discovers hidden away in the trappings of his fiction, and which finds its most glorious expression in his best-known book, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Illuminating the most dazzling scenes from his novels, Thoughts without cigarettes reveals the true stories and indelible memories that shaped a literary genius.

***** UPDATED ***** The AJC-Decatur Book Festival, in association with Oglethorpe University and A Cappella Books, presents a very special evening with Pulitzer-Prize-winning, Cuban-American novelist Oscar Hijuelos. The author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love has just penned a memoir, entitled Thoughts Without Cigarettes, and he will read from, discuss and sign copies of it at Oglethorpe University's Phoebe Hearst Hall on Monday, June 20 beginning at 7 p.m. The evening will also include traditional Latin-style music performed by Cucho Garcia of the local ensemble, San Juan Jam. Guests will also enjoy refreshments provided by Sugarloft, a new Atlanta catering company inspired by Cuban bakeries that fill the palm-lined streets of Miami. A limited number of tickets are available for this very special evening for $40 per person. Follow the link on the Event Webpage to reserve tickets, or call 404-681-5128. Ticket price includes a signed, first edition copy of the new book and benefits The AJC-Decatur Book Festival. Oscar Hijuelos, the first Latin American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, has enchanted readers with vibrant characters who hunger for success, love, and self-acceptance. In his first work of nonfiction, Hijuelos writes from the heart about the people and places that inspired his international bestselling novels. Born in Manhattan's Morningside Heights to Cuban immigrants in 1951, Hijuelos introduces readers to the colorful circumstances of his upbringing. The son of a Cuban hotel worker and exuberant poetry-writing mother, his story, played out against the backdrop of an often prejudiced working-class neighborhood, takes on an even richer dimension when his relationship to his family and culture changes forever. During a sojourn in pre-Castro Cuba with his mother, he catches a disease that sends him into a Dickensian home for terminally ill children. The yearlong stay estranges him from the very language and people he had so loved. With a cast of characters whose stories are both funny and tragic, Thoughts Without Cigarettes follows Hijuelos's subsequent quest for his true identity into adulthood, through college and beyond – a mystery whose resolution he eventually discovers hidden away in the trappings of his fiction, and which finds its most glorious expression in his best-known book, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Illuminating the most dazzling scenes from his novels, Thoughts Without Cigarettes reveals the true stories and indelible memories that shaped a literary genius. Oglethorpe University is located at 4484 Peachtree Road NE. If you cannot attend the reading, but would like a signed copy of Thoughts Without Cigarettes you may reserve it on the Event Webpage. ***** UPDATED ***** (jasbro)… (more)

Oscar Hijuelos is the first Hispanic writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Hijuelos will discuss and sign his new memoir Thoughts Without Cigarettes (Gotham, $27.50), which shines a light on the traumatic experience of being a Cuban forced to abandon his native language before becoming an American writer. The son of Cuban immigrants, Hijuelos illuminates the most dazzling scenes from his novels, revealing the true stories that shaped a literary genius: a sojourn through pre-Castro Cuba, an often prejudiced working-class neighborhood, and a childhood in Manhattan's Morningside Heights. Oscar Hijuelos is the international bestselling author of eight novels, including Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, which was made into a feature film in 1992. He has also received the Rome Prize and prestigious grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. (herebebooks)… (more)

Oscar Hijuelos visits on Thursday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m., with his new BEAUTIFUL MARIA OF MY SOUL. Returning to the Pulitzer Prize-winning THE MAMBO KINGS PLAY SONGS OF LOVE, the story is told from the point of view of its beloved heroine, Maria. This promises to be a memorable evening with the renowned author. NCSU Friends Of The Library is co-sponsor for this event. (goddesspt2)… (more)

Oscar Hijuelos is a first-generation Cuban American and thefirst Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction honoring his The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. New is Dark Dude, a story for younger readers of identity and the struggle to accept your true self. (bookjones)

The honoree for 2008 will be Oscar Hijuelos, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. The Tenth Westport Library Award will be given at the Library's Booked for the evening fundraising event on June 12, 2008 at 7:30 pm. (collsers)